The Future President of Costa Rica Defines the Priorities of His Government

The Costa Rica News (TCRN) – The designated president Luis Guillermo Solis said this week that as soon as the rest of the legislation is certain, he will take care of the weakest points of the road infrastructure in the country and begin to complete requests and demands of various sectors.

Solis won the presidential election on Sunday in a second round of elections Johnny Araya, and will succeed former president, Laura Chinchilla, on May 8. The team that will govern the next 4 years must be defined in the coming days.

In his first press conference, the elected president said that immediately he will pay attention to the weakest points of road infrastructure in the country, starting with 11 repair culverts, as the University of Costa Rica has warned about a major imminent collapse of the country’s roads.

A few hours after having been elected, Solis has received complaints and petitions from various sectors such as shrimp fishermen and the Chamber of Tourism and industry. The latter made an urgent call to address the high cost of electricity in the country.

“There are new applications that have been raised. We have a proposal to reduce costs of electricity with three or four measures such as reclassifying the elimination of taxes on bunker generation debts, reducing the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad short-term and revise the tariff model”, he explained.

The price of electricity in Costa Rica rose by 30% from the previous year as a result of the low level of hydropower plants in the country, forcing generate energy through fossil fuels which are more expensive; this has become a frequent complaint of the business sector.

The candidate also said that he will focus on defining the members of his cabinet so that they can be announced next week, while executives of public institutions would be announced in two weeks.

Solis said his vices will form the ministry. First Vice President, Helio Fallas, will coordinate the economic team; while the second vice president, Ana Helena Chacón, will be responsible for the social team.

During the campaign, Solis had appointed 13 spokespersons responsible for different areas of the governance plan, among which he could maintain most of the ministers of the next administration to meet the main objectives of his government.

“There are three general objectives: to produce a richer economy to a more prosperous country, a better distribution of wealth and creating conditions for the transparent management of public resources,” said the designated president.

Political analyst Victor Ramirez believes the new president’s main challenge is to restore public confidence in their rulers, as voters voted with the belief in choosing an honest government.

“The problems are numerous and no one can solve them overnight, but if the government shows a clear attitude, accountability, consulting sectors and respect for the law, people will be happy,” said Ramirez.

The political scientist believes that more than 1.3 million votes for Solis in the second round will provide enough to maintain support of the population during early political ideals, but nevertheless good care must be taken concerning the choice of his ministers.

“They must be good, honest people with managerial skills, not personal problems or skeletons in the closet,” said the analyst.

Other challenges ahead for the next president will be the focus on the fiscal deficit this year which will reach 6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and his promise to eradicate extreme poverty.

Solis said he will meet President Chinchilla to discuss the transition to be held at the National Stadium in San Jose and reiterated his desire to make an austere government.

This historian and political scientist, 56, reached 77.81% of all votes on Sunday, compared to 22.19% of Araya, of the ruling National Liberation Party.

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